A mold move: residents relocated to hotels
November 06, 2022 9:10 am • Last Updated: November 06, 2022 9:19 am
Azrielle Levy, 2, rides her trike down as her mother Valarie watches the hallway of the Residence Inn Mystic on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. With no playground they can walk to Valarie struggles to keep the active toddler entertained in a hotel room. The two have been living at the hotel since leaving their Branford Manor apartment in September due to mold and structural issues. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Valarie Levy colors with her daughter Azrielle, 2, in the lobby of the Residence Inn Mystic on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. With no playground they can walk to Valarie struggles to keep the active toddler entertained in a hotel room. The two have been living at the hotel since leaving their Branford Manor apartment in September due to mold and structural issues. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Azrielle Levy, 2, looks for a snack in the fridge in the room she shares with her mother Valarie at the Residence Inn Mystic on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. The two have been living at the hotel since leaving their Branford Manor apartment in September due to mold and structural issues. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Azrielle Levy, 2, plays ball in the hallway of the Residence Inn Mystic on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. With no playground they can walk to Valarie struggles to keep the active toddler entertained in a hotel room. Azrielle and her mother have been living at the hotel since leaving their Branford Manor apartment in September due to mold and structural issues. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Valarie Levy helps her daughter Azrielle, 2, pick out a snack from the market at the Residence Inn Mystic on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. The two have been living at the hotel since leaving their Branford Manor apartment in September due to mold and structural issues. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Sandra Fetters shows a note she wrote for doctors about her health issues as she sorts through papers at the Residence Inn Mystic Monday, October 31, 2022. Sandra, her two daughters and three cats have been at the hotel since leaving their apartment at Branford Manor for health reasons last spring. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Lester Harris Sr. puts away clothes in the living area at the Residence Inn Mystic Monday, October 31, 2022. He and his wife Latasha Fisher-Harris along with family members have been staying at hotels since they had to leave their apartment at Branford Manor due to mold issues this summer. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Sandra Fetters looks through her notes as her daughter plays with their cat Earl at the Residence Inn Mystic Monday, October 31, 2022. Sandra, her two daughters and three cats have been at the hotel since leaving their apartment at Branford Manor for health reasons last spring. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Sandra Fetters looks for important papers kept in a clothing drawer in her daughters room at the Residence Inn Mystic Monday, October 31, 2022. Sandra, her two daughters and three cats have been at the hotel since leaving their apartment at Branford Manor for health reasons last spring. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Lester Harris Sr. and his wife Latasha Fisher-Harris discuss health issues they’ve experienced at the Residence Inn Mystic Monday, October 31, 2022. The couple and Latasha’s children have been staying at hotels since they had to leave their apartment at Branford Manor due to mold issues this summer. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Lester Harris Sr. looks through the kitchen storage options at the Residence Inn Mystic Monday, October 31, 2022. He and his wife Latasha Fisher-Harris along with family members have been staying at hotels since they had to leave their apartment at Branford Manor due to mold issues this summer. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
A child’s blanket sits on a bed at the Spring Hill Suites in Waterford Tuesday, November 1, 2022. Christine Santos has been living in hotels with her three children since they were asked to leave their apartment in Branford Manor due to mold issues. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Christine Santos in the space she has to use as a kitchen at the Spring Hill Suites in Waterford Tuesday, November 1, 2022. Santos has been living in hotels with her three children since they were asked to leave their apartment in Branford Manor due to mold issues over the summer. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Christine Santos points out what she has been using as storage space in her room at the Spring Hill Suites in Waterford Tuesday, November 1, 2022. Santos has been living in hotels with her three children since they were asked to leave their apartment in Branford Manor due to mold issues over the summer. (Sarah Gordon/The Day) Buy Photo Reprints
Groton― Many Branford Manor residents who were struggling with mold issues at their apartments are now adjusting to a new normal, hotel living. More than 25 Branford Manor residents have been living in area hotels while mold is being removed from their apartments.
Christine Santos and her children have lived at three different hotels since this summer. She said they don’t have to take cough and flu medicine daily and they feel healthier being out of their apartments.
But the struggle of hotel living and stress of upending their lives has taken an impact on their mental health, as Latasha Fisher-Harris said as she looked around at the bins she and her family been living out of since July. “This is because you don’t know when you’re going to be leaving,” she explained.
In an Oct. 25 letter, the management team at Branford Manor Apartments said it has developed a plan to finish “all apartment remediation and other repairs,” by the end of February. But for most of the residents in hotels, there’s an ever changing check-out date.
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